AUTHOR: Larry RodmanABSTRACT: The contemporary wave of independent comic books began, roughly speaking, as sort of an Eighties butterfly hatched from the chrysalis of the Sixties/Seventies comics underground. Harvey Pekar has been chronicling his experiences since the underground era, as one of the few writers exclusively concerned with naturalistic subject matter.)

AUTHOR: Joe GalloABSTRACT: Growing up in the suburbs wasn’t as deadly as my friends and I assumed. At best it was safe, and at worst it was boring. My neighborhood was filled with aspiring Blondies and Dagwoods, clotting their life’s blood with knickknackery, soulless trophies, and the latest gizmos. So much care went into maintaining appearances, from the lushness of one’s lawn, the lusciousness of one’s wife, and the status of one’s husband. In this atmosphere it is no surprise that a 12 year old boy would fall for this sexy, though sexless, domestic partner of the American Dream.)

AUTHOR: Stefan EconomouABSTRACT: When Charles Schulz announced that he was retiring Peanuts after almost 50 years, the tone of the media reportage was as if a distinguished and now-doddering senator had shuffled out of his chambers for the last time; i.e. a respectful salute to the end of an institution.)

AUTHOR: Anne ThalheimerABSTRACT: Doucet’s work is not for the faint of heart . . . she does not shy away from the strange, the grotesque, the self-scathing . . . or the bodily. More often than not, she manages to mix them all up into one frightening, surreal, fabulous sequence.)

AUTHOR: Larry RodmanABSTRACT: Austin, Texas  It’s a factoid I never seem to tire of: Austin was one of the major seats of the Sixties underground comix movement, a historic ground for unfettered self-determination among comics creators. The scene germinated in and around the University of Texas campus, as an outgrowth of late Fifties-era humor mags, fanzines, and mimeographed comic books. The artistic impulse behind the undergrounds was going around like a virus at the time; if you had to choose between the Austin and San Francisco/Berkeley factions as to who actually christened the movement, the Texans would probably win on a technicality.)

AUTHOR: John BurnsonABSTRACT: Marvel is succumbing to the “Sopranos syndrome”: a mindset that has taken hold among executives of the Big Three TV networks, that the only way to compete with cable is to match them vulgarity for vulgarity.)

AUTHOR: Peter BebergalABSTRACT: Literature means never having to say you’re a genre. Being inside an insidious box molds literature into some pretty terrible moments. In the history of genre fiction, the boxiest of all, only a few works stand out as having crossed that fine, and some would say snotty, line into literary fiction. Dashell Hammett, Tolkien, and possibly one or two Stephen King novels have found their way into the loftier realms of what might be considered art.)

AUTHOR: Ryan BrownABSTRACT: The movie [X-Men] has allowed Marvel to use Wolverine as a marketing tool. And herein lies the problem with the character of Wolverine. Marvel is more concerned with the quantity of Wolverine’s appearances rather than its quality.)

AUTHOR: A. David LewisABSTRACT: Regardless, even as comic books experience a financial crisis with pro wrestling, the Internet, and school killings all nipping at its heels, a creative Renaissance is in progress. Perhaps it started years ago, as early as the ‘80s, but the American comic book industry is now largely in the debt of one group of people: The British.)

AUTHOR: Sabadino ParkerABSTRACT: Although only seven years has passed since Understanding Comics first hit direct market shelves, the world has changed dramatically, especially in the comics business. For one, the industry itself has come to a staggering standstill compared with the popular explosion that occurred in the early nineties. Additionally, new technologies such as the Internet and CD-ROMs have led many to speculate as to whether print may be slowly dying, or, if comics in particular are already dead.)

AUTHOR: Kevin MatthewsABSTRACT: PopMatters spoke to the duo of minds behind the recent Legion Lost series to discuss the road that led to the current maxi-series, the pressures of writing such a high-profile property, and the future of the Legion in Legion Worlds.)

AUTHOR: A. David LewisABSTRACT: As the mind behind works such as Batman:Manbat, The Horrorist, and Hellblazer, the U.K.-native was kind enough to give his thoughts on the “British recolonization” of the American comics industry, an event that, he says, has been on-going for at least the last 15 years. With a new series  Outlaw Nation, being illustrated by Goran Sudzuka and coming from DC Comics this September  Mr. Delano shared insights from past and present American affiliations as a Briton in a no-longer-so-strange land.)

AUTHOR: A. David LewisABSTRACT: Ron Lim has been everywhere in the comic book universe, from Marvel Comic to DC Comics, from big publishers to new independents, from regular artist to freelancer. Now, as he looks at creator-owned properties, PopMatters took a moment to speak live with the prolific penciler and learn about what brought him into the superhero mainstream and where he feels these well-traveled ink rivers may lead.)

AUTHOR: Kevin MatthewsABSTRACT: Walt Simonson has been described as the modern Jack Kirby, a legend of today’s comic books. His run on The Mighty Thor remains one of the most defining and compelling chronicles of the Marvel Comics staple since the character’s creation by Kirby himself.)

AUTHOR: Kevin MatthewsABSTRACT: PopMatters spoke with Wagner about this intriguing turn of events, what it is like to play with some of Marvel’s preeminent icons, and the future of his own, heroic characters.)